


Maybe it's not the end of the world

by angelswatchingover



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bunker Fic, Dean and Cas as Claire's adopted dads, M/M, hunter husbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-01
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-26 15:38:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3855988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelswatchingover/pseuds/angelswatchingover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claire and Cas move into the bunker with the Winchesters and maybe this little family they have created isn't so bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Maybe it's not the end of the world

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little drabble I posted on Tumblr before 10x20. I know Claire is headed to Jodi's now, but I wanted to write about what bunker life could be like if TFW adopted Claire.

Claire agrees to move into the bunker with Cas and the Winchesters after life on her own simply becomes too overwhelming. The hustling and struggling for every bit of food, shelter, and safety had become too much and one day she finds herself huddled under an overpass in Galvaston longing for her family. Maybe just longing for someone, anyone who didn't want anything from her. And damn if she hadn't forgotten that the whole longing thing would attract Castiel (or maybe some part of her was hoping it would) because she wakes up to the angel standing over her giving her that horrible look of pity.

She had been angry and relieved to see Castiel and but the growling of her stomach and the soreness in her bones won out over her conflicted feelings. Reluctantly, she agreed to go with him, the lure of safety, comfort, food, and maybe even companionship too strong to fuel her resentment. But it's only temporarily she insisted, just 'till she decides what to do next.

It's at the end of her second week at the bunker, while Claire is laying on her own comfortable bed in her own room that she realizes this strange place could actually be a home to her. The three men she is living with are all weird but doting. Sam had immediately taken her under his wing, giving her a tour of the bunker, letting her pick out a room, and buying her the smart phone she is currently tapping away on. Dean had said she couldn't hang with hunters without being able to defend herself and took her down to the shooting range to begin her gun training. Claire was surprised and proud to find that she was a natural, hitting almost every target on the first day and getting better all the time. And he insisted that she either wear an anti-possession necklace or get a tattoo. Naturally, she opted for the tattoo, and has a small star symbol hidden under her hair at the base of her neck.

And Castiel is... well Cas tries, she thinks as she shakes her head at the latest text from him. He starts every new text string with a 'Hello, Claire' and uses emoticons a bit too liberally for an Angel of the Lord. The poor guy is clueless with her but once a day, like clockwork, he sits down beside her and asks her how she is with this utter sincerity, like he actually cares. At first she would blow him off with scoffs of, "what do you think? I'm living underground like a mole person" but every once in a while, almost against her will, some honesty will come leaking out. She still can't believe yesterday she thanked him for bringing her here. The damn angel is breaking through and she isn't sure if she wants to punch him or hug him.

When she first came here it felt like the end of the world, like giving up her freedom and the anger that had fueled her for so long. But now she's not so sure. It's starting to feel like... well like a _real life_ , and the _before_ may have just been the _in between_. Maybe this life of helping Sam with research and Dean with the dishes and hot meals in the bunker's kitchen and bickering with Dean over the music in the Impala isn't so bad.

A month later Claire starts school and it turns out that the residual grace that resides inside of her enhances her already intelligent mind and makes her uncanny good at physics. For her science project, she had come up with a theory on how certain sub-atomic frequencies can be used in cellular technology to decrease the bandwidth utilized thereby expanding the usable spectrum. It _may_ be based on the concept of angel radio, but no one has to know that. And on the night she is to get an award for her project, which absolutely blew the judges away, her three new “dads” all pile into the Impala to head to the school. She tells them not to bother but Dean pulls her aside and tells her how proud he is (of course she could have done without him calling her kiddo) and in a moment of weakness she agrees to let them all come.

She is standing by her project frowning at Castiel because he just won’t stop taking pictures. Seriously, she could kill Dean for giving the guy a smart phone. Dean is doing his usual bullshit act of trying to act casual while stealing glances at Cas every moment he can and trying not to look smitten. She is so tired of these two idiots. Not for the first time, she wonders how these two are ever going to figure out they are in love. And Sam, well, Sam is in his element. He has been going from project to project reading all the stupid boards and re-living the glory days. If she has to hear one more story about that time he won his 7th grade science fair she’s going to scream.

She sees her teacher, Miss Rivas coming towards her table and for a second panics, wondering how she is going to explain her strange “family” of three men and no mother in sight. When a devious thought pops into her mind that almost makes her laugh out loud. She is totally going to say Dean and Cas are her dads and she can’t wait to see Dean choke and Cas fluster at that. And they have no right to be mad, after all these guys lie professionally. And Sam, well, that’s easy. He’s Dean’s brother.

Miss Rivas gives her a big warm smile and shakes her hand, “Claire, congratulations. I’m so proud of you.”

Her teacher is all sincerity and as much as she hates to admit it, she really likes Miss Rivas. She’s kind of awesome, really. She is whip smart and funny too. She is that one teacher who really engages with the students and has a talent for pulling the best out of them. It took her less than a week to spot Claire’s talent for science and managed to make her believe that she could really do something with it. And Claire likes that she’s really a spitfire too, she may look like a pushover at 5′3″ in heels with her long dark hair and pretty smile, but she doesn’t let her classes get away with anything.

And Claire finds herself for the first time since she was ten wanting to impress a teacher. The warmth of Miss Rivas’ greeting makes her heart flutter a little and she almost hates that she likes that feeling so much.

Then her teacher glances at the men standing with Claire, “Is this your family?”

“Um... yeah, this is my dad, Cas and his partner Dean.”

Miss Rivas reaches her hand out to Cas, whose mouth dropped open a bit as he tilted his head and squinted, that little move he always does when he is trying to puzzle something out in his brain. Dean gapes for a second but he recovers much quicker, plastering on his charming smile and meeting her teacher’s outstretched hand

“Nice to meet you Miss…?” Dean asks, moving closer to Cas and giving him a soft elbow to the ribs. It works, Cas blinks out of his confusion as his eyes land on Miss Rivas.

“Oh please, call me Lucia,” her teacher says, giving Dean a warm smile.

“You two are doing a wonderful job with Claire. She is really quite bright. You should be very proud.”

Castiel, the big dork, takes her hand into his and covers both of them with his left hand, giving her those genuine eyes and quirking his mouth up into what passes for a Cas smile. “It is an honor to meet you. Thank you so much for the work you are doing with Claire.”

Claire wants to vomit. Fuck! Cas is so weird. But at the same time, against her will, something warm blossoms in her chest at someone taking this much of an interest in her. She can’t stand it and has to break up the moment.

“Yeah,” she says stepping forward and gesturing to the man standing off to Dean’s right, “and this is Dean’s brother, Sam.”

Sam steps forward and has to look down, way down, to make eye contact with the teacher and the height difference makes Claire smile. Sam gives Miss Rivas that warm smile and greets her with his soft voice and, eew, if Clarie isn’t mistaken, he is flirting with her teacher and if that isn’t bad enough it seems to be working because Miss Rivas laughs brightly up at him and gives him a beautiful smile. And Claire can hear a freaking fat lady singing somewhere because these two look like they are already undressing each other with their eyes.

Thankfully, her teacher soon has to move on to other students but she definitely notices Sam’s eyes going to her when he thinks no one is looking.

Once they are alone again, Cas leans close to Dean and says in a low voice, “Dean, I think Claire’s teacher was under the mistaken impression that we are a romantic couple.”

“Yeah, Cas,” Dean mumbles, “just go with it. Easier than explaining what Claire’s doing with three dudes.”

So without blinking an eye, Cas reaches down and links his fingers together with Dean’s like this is a normal thing, like they really are a couple and Dean freezes on the spot. For a moment, Claire thinks he is going to yell or pull away and she makes a concerted effort to not look as a pink blush creeps up his neck and cheeks.

Sam’s eyebrows go up and Dean catches the movement.

“What the hell, Cas?” Dean whispers to his side but Claire notices he has definitely not pulled his hand away yet.

“This gives us the appearance of being a couple,” Castiel replies in as if this is a matter of very strategic importance.

Sam holds back a snicker and instead gives Cas this warm smile, “It definitely does. Good plan, Cas."

“Shut up, dude, at least I’m not hot for teacher,” Dean grouses, pulling his hand out of Cas’ grasp.

“Gross, guys! That’s my teacher you are talking about,” Claire winces and turns, stomping off to anywhere but here.

Sam makes a bitch face and walks away from Dean and Cas, pretending to peruse the other projects, but Dean shakes his head as Sam accidentally runs into Lucia at another table.

***

And just like that Dean and Cas are left standing alone by Claire’s project with an awkward heaviness between them. Dean looks at Cas, who is very purposely looking anywhere but at Dean, shifting back and forth on his feet and for a second Dean is a bit overwhelmed by the human gestures. Ever since Cas gave up his grace to cure the Mark, Dean has been noticing more of these and they never cease to fascinate him. Cas is definitely no longer that righteous zealot he met in that barn in Pontiac. He is human, and this strange medley of angel of the Lord badassery, human fragility, and that awkward something that is just Cas. And Dean kind of loves it.

Cas is improving on hunts, he’s still tough as nails and lethal with a sword, and he’s getting better at talking to people without earning all three of them strange looks. And now there is this other side to their relationship, this domesticity that terrifies Dean with how much he enjoys it. Sometimes he pretends to be researching when out of the corner of his eye he watches Cas discussing school work with Claire or correcting historical mistakes in the MoL literature with Sam.

But his favorite thing is in the mornings after Claire has left for school and Sam is out on his run, Cas will shuffle into the kitchen, all rumpled clothes and bedhead and droopy eyes and sit quietly as Dean cooks him breakfast. Cas loves his coffee and he drinks it slowly as he watches Dean move about the kitchen. And there is a warmth that spreads through Dean in providing for Cas and seeing this appreciative smile come across his face as he tells Dean how good each day’s meal is. And it’s in those moments that Dean thinks that he could actually be happy with his life like this. Hunting with Sam or Cas or both, and coming home to the bunker and maybe even doing something about this thing he has for Cas.

And that’s when it dawns on him that it just might be OK. After all, Cas didn’t seem put off by the fact that Claire’s teacher thought they were together, and Claire must not mind if she was the one who said it in the first place. Sam just smiled his doofy grin at them when Cas grabbed his hand and… well, _Cas had held his hand_! And it was nice and a little comforting and yeah, he really wanted to do it again.

So with more courage than it took to face down Death himself, Dean moves his arm a bit and links his and Cas’ hands back together.

Cas’ eyes go wide as he turns and looks up at Dean, his face all a confused question.

“What?” Dean asks, trying to sound casual as he forces the shakiness out of his voice. “They already think we are together. What if… what if we… were?”

“I… I don’t understand…” he responds, that crease between his eyes becoming more pronounced as he squints his eyes in confusion.

“Look, man, I don’t know how to do this.” Dean huff a humorless laugh, “Shit, I never thought I’d get to do this. But you’re here now and we’ve got this life and.. fuck, I’m just tired of pretending there’s nothing between-”

“Dean,” Cas cuts him off, “I would be honored.”

And to Dean’s surprise, Cas cups his cheek and pulls him in for the softest of kisses, just a brief light touch of their lips but it kind of makes Dean weak in the knees and when was the last time a simple kiss did _that_? “

Jesus,” Dean hears Claire laugh behind him, “taking the whole _playing my two dads_ thing pretty seriously, aren’t ya?”

Dean attempts to draw back but Cas holds his hand firm and tells Claire, “Dean and I have decided to enter into a romantic relationship.”

Claire rolls her eyes and snorts, “Shocker! Just keep it PG, k?”

Just then Sam comes bounding back looking really smug, “Hey Dean, I’m going use the Impala on Friday, OK?”

“Yeah, what for?”

“Um, I have a date… with Lucia, and my car’s kind of a piece of shit.”

And Dean can’t help but smile at the big moose. Who knew having this teenage girl come into their lives would change everything? The family he had always envisioned certainly never looked like this. But a wise man once told him that family don’t end with blood. And here he is, still hunting with his brother, healthy and curse free (well, for now), living in a secret society bunker, with a girl he cares for like a daughter. His brother’s got a date with a hot teacher who is in all likelihood _not_ a monster and he just kissed a former angel of the Lord in a man’s body who is probably the love of his life.

Life is weird and unpredictable and with Dean’s life, he never knows when he’ll be facing the end of the world again. And so the next day at the breakfast table, instead of just handing Cas his coffee, he sits down across from him and softly takes Cas’ hand into his own. As as Cas gives him that little upturned smile he can’t believe how easy and right this is. And loving Cas suddenly isn’t the end of the world but feels more like the beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed writing these four and I'm thinking about adding some more chapters to this verse, maybe have some Charlie and Claire moments. What do you think?
> 
> Also, I'd love to interact with you on Tumblr. You can find me at [AngelsWatchingOver.Tumblr.com](http://angelswatchingover.tumblr.com/)


End file.
